The quarterbacks started practice by throwing about a dozen 40-yard passes each, deep down the left sideline. Kaepernick and Johnson made it look easy. Smith had the distance down but he kept missing by a few yards to the left or a few yards to the right. Tolzien struggled with the distance.

Kaepernick consistently overthrew his target, which was impressive in this drill, but it foreshadowed the rest of his afternoon in which he consistently overthrew receivers on most plays. Deep passes, crossing routes, out patterns –Kaepernick overthrew them. He has a rocket arm, but he still has trouble with accuracy and touch.

Johnson looked much better than Kaepernick –he was more accurate and his release was much quicker.

When Harbaugh split the four QBs up after the first drill, Johnson, not Kaepernick, paired up with Smith. Harbaugh watched these two closely for about 20 minutes as they took turns throwing passes on the run to the tailbacks.

After one day in the race for the backup QB job, I think Johnson has the lead. He didn’t miss a single throw today. He even practiced better than Smith did today, and Smith did well –he missed a couple 10-yard outs and few deep passes, but mostly he did well.

As Moss leapt in the end zone and caught the pass, the Niners went wild. Anthony Davis threw his hands up in the air and squealed like a child.

This happened every time someone threw the ball to Moss. After practice, Kaepernick said it was “surreal” throwing passes to him. The Niners were in awe.

But Moss wasn’t just a spectacle –he was a leader. At one point he took all of the wide receivers aside and demonstrated cutting and quick feet. Crabtree and Williams and all of them just stared and nodded at Moss with complete respect.

During the drills, Moss worked as hard as anyone. I was expecting the backups to do most of the work, but Moss jumped into the huddle as often as the coaches allowed him to. This seemed to inspire Crabtree, who sometimes hangs back with Ginn on the periphery of the action.

Today, Crabtree hung with Moss, running as many patterns and catching as many passes as possible, and talking trash the whole time. Moss and Crabtree need strong offseasons –their careers depend on it –and it seems like they’re already bringing out the best in each other.

Crabtree had a very good practice –he caught almost everything, but he couldn’t outshine Moss, the star of the day.

With an opportunity to have a playbook for more than one season, Alex Smith is finally able to start fine-tuning other parts of his game in the offseason, including his throwing mechanics and fundamentals.

Rookie Minicamp Report: Good looking group of Wide Receivers
SANTA CLARA -- First off, it's not as if 49ers first-round draft pick A.J. Jenkins showed up at rookie minicamp with a spare tire around his waist.

Jenkins, the 30th overall pick, thought he was in good physical condition. But the wide receiver from Illinois quickly found out that "good" isn't good enough for what's required for the demands of an NFL camp -- especially when there are only three other receivers to share all of the reps.

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But in the afternoon, Jenkins rebounded nicely and put together a pretty solid showing.

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Palmer topped the list of the 49ers' 18 undrafted free agents with a $10,000 signing bonus. Tyms was second at $8,000. Owusu, meanwhile, received $3,000.

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Palmer (listed at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds) caught 47 passes for 695 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. He was not invited to the NFL scouting combine, but he took pre-draft visits to meet with the 49ers, Seattle and Indianapolis.

The only bad part of the article

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--The 49ers' workouts Saturday and Sunday are closed to the media, so there will not be any more reports from the practice field.

Yeah, it's not like he came in athletically out-of-shape. He just wasn't in "49ers-shape." Harbaugh basically said that if being in shape is the worst thing you have to worry about on day-one then your players are doing things right.

Jim Harbaugh got the boys back together this past week, and it was an impressive sight.

There was a decided confidence and swagger surrounding the 49ers as they gathered in Santa Clara for some light workouts. Scanning the field, you could see marquee NFL players at most every position. What used to be a tense workplace, run by taskmasters Mike Singletary and Mike Nolan, has turned into a professional football factory.

It’s still remarkable to think what CEO Jed York, GM Trent Baalke and Harbaugh have achieved in such a short time. The sounds of a new stadium being built across the street rattle around the 49ers’ practice facility, intermingling with the sounds of a solid team being built on the field.

The assembled weapons of San Francisco’s offense could be seen running under long throws from newcomer Josh Johnson, quarterback-in-waiting Colin Kaepernick and incumbent Alex Smith. There was Randy Moss, hauling in a 50-yard bomb. There was Kyle Williams, trying to run down a Johnson heave and exclaiming, “God, he’s got an arm!” Michael Crabtree and Moss could be heard jabbering across the field. And Vernon Davis was in the middle of it all, reminding everyone that he is the man. Wait until rookies A.J. Jenkins and LaMichael James and veteran Brandon Jacobs join this crew.

The offensive linemen were off to the side, pushing the sled and looking massive. Mike Iupati, in particular, stood out as a giant among giants. He has cut his hair, tightened up his upper body and looks every bit the Pro Bowler. Starting tackle Joe Staley looked loose and fit, alternating between goofing off and pounding the sled. And Alex Boone, the team’s swing tackle the past two seasons, was taking reps at right guard, a position that’s his for the taking. Boone, 6-feet-8, 302 pounds, later told us he needs to put on 20 pounds to withstand the hand-to-hand rigors of playing guard. Can you imagine that?

Across the way, the defensive linemen were involved in a unique drill, new to camp this year. They had boxing gloves on and were pounding away at targets held up by their coaches. There was Isaac Sopoaga, the enormous 330-pound tackle, pounding the pads. There was Ray McDonald doing the same.

But it wasn’t until Justin Smith stepped into the ring that everyone stopped and turned around. The Missouri monster, in his 12th year, starting popping the gloves with jabs and hooks in rapid succession, creating a sound that echoed across the field. It was like watching Mark McGwire take batting practice back in the day. It made a different sound than everyone else.

Over with the d-backs, balls were flying and players were yapping. At one point, you could see Donte Whitner drop down to the ground and knock out 20 quick pushups, showing the veteran drive that has made him an undisputed team leader.

And in the middle of it all was Harbaugh, running up and down the field with the players, barking orders and generally looking as if it was Christmas morning. You couldn’t imagine anyone loving football practice more than Harbaugh.

And you couldn’t imagine coming into this season with more confidence than the San Francisco 49ers have. What that season will hold is anyone’s guess. But for now, it feels as though no one’s got it better than the 49ers.

I know its VERY early but its nice to hear that guys are focused and ready to become great. My biggest worry was that last season success might make guys feel entitled, like they didnt have to work hard. But seeing as the writer, this early in the process, noticed the edge our players have brought already can only bode well for us down the line.

I know its VERY early but its nice to hear that guys are focused and ready to become great. My biggest worry was that last season success might make guys feel entitled, like they didnt have to work hard. But seeing as the writer, this early in the process, noticed the edge our players have brought already can only bode well for us down the line.

Yeah, it is very early but im more excited and looking forward to the season more than any other season in a LONG time. And if Moss can at least match 2009, we'll have a steal at WR. :)